Travel Environment Watch.

New York (AirGuide - Travel Environment Watch) Jul 12, 2009

Australia

Australia on Wednesday announced plans to stop tourists climbing Uluru, the giant red rock sacred to Aborigines and formerly known as Ayers Rock, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. National parks officials said the move was put forward on cultural and safety grounds as there have been about 30 deaths among tourists making the arduous climb, which has reluctantly been allowed by Aboriginal elders. Jul 9, 2009

Solar Impulse

Researchers have unveiled the prototype of a solar-powered aircraft which is intended eventually to conduct a transatlantic and round-the-world flight. The Solar Impulse aircraft, under development for several years, was shown at Switzerland's Dubendorff Airfield on 26 June. Tests and first flight of the Solar Impulse, construction of which began in 2007, are set to take place later this year with a view to performing a 36-hour zero-fuel flight in 2010. Jul 7, 2009

UPS

UPS said it has adopted a plan to cut the carbon dioxide emissions of UPS Airlines by an additional 20 percent by 2020 to bring its cumulative reduction to 42 percent compared to 1990 levels. The company said its jet aircraft "are the source of 53 percent" of UPS's total CO2 output. The delivery giant also operates fleets of trucks and vans and manages warehouses. It added that it intends to achieve the 2020 goal "by investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft types and engines, fuel-saving operational initiatives, and the introduction of biofuels." Separately, UPS completed the first phase of expansion on its Worldport sorting facility at its Louisville hub. The complex's hourly sorting capacity has been increased15 percent to 350,000 packages per hr. The expansion, to be fully completed by next year, will ramp up the high-tech building's hourly capacity to 487,000 pieces. The company said this week that the project is progressing under budget and "UPS will spend less than the anticipated USD 1 billion for the expansion." Jul 9, 2009

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